May 1, 2007

Home at Madison Rep

Jennifer A. Smith

In this neck of the woods, Madison Repertory Theatre is currently staging Samm-Art Williams' "Home," about a rural African-American man in tiny Cross Roads, North Carolina.Much of what happens in "Home" is outside my own personal experience:I'm white, do not practice a religion and live in the North, whereas Cephus, the show's protagonist, is black, a man of deep faith and lives in the South.I'm also of a different generation than Cephus.It's a simplistic point, but part of the reason theater (or any art form) is worthwhile is to give us a taste of lives other than our own.Yet it's also refreshing to see's one's own experiences on stage now and again--something I'm not sure local audience members of color get enough of.

The audience at "Home" on a recent Sunday was more diverse than I usually see at Madison Rep, both in terms of age and ethnicity.The crowd felt a little more alive, thanks to a large contingent of teens."Home" is being presented as part of the "African-American Artist Series," which I have mixed feelings about.On the one hand, it's obviously worthy to have a regular, ongoing commitment to working with playwrights, actors and directors of color.Yet on the other hand, why must this be set aside in a special series?Shouldn't this be happening more frequently, as a matter of course?

My review of this show appears later this week in Isthmus, Madison's alt weekly.I'll come back later and add a link.